Habitat - Indoor :: Water quality

[valladin82]

I have some fake plants and drift wood that they hang out around. Trust me they are quick. It'll take a clever turtle to catch them. Mine haven't figured it out yet. As for feeding them they just eat stuff that builds up in the tank. Pieces of left over food, turtle poo, algea.

[turtlesrmom]

I put the purigen in with the carbon pack and the water looked great for about two weeks then it started to get cloudy. I couldn't get to it for a while but the other day I replaced half the water by using a siphon because there was SO much junk down in the bottom of the tank. Krush is messy! I also had to take out the filter system and rinse everything off because it was gross with slime and yucky bits. I didn't replace anything just rinsed everything well with tank water. I didn't get everything in the tank siphoned up but it was a huge improvement. One thing I noticed since using the purigen is the water doesn't go brown anymore. I'm glad because I don't want to take the two driftwood pieces out. Krush thinks they're his turtle girlfriends because he does his little fluttering thing to them. I think the purigen is working quite well! Question: I am wondering though how often everyone elses tank gets so dirty that the filter system needs to be cleaned. The reason I ask is that I bought a 55 gallon tank and am using Fluval 4 and maybe its not a big enough filter system. The box said 'up to' 55 gallons so I wonder if I need a bigger system.

[PridgNYC]

Yes, you need a bigger filter. The common rule of thumb is that you should get one that is rated for a tank that is at least 2-3 times bigger than yours. So you need a filter that can handle at least 110 gallons, but it is better to aim for higher, so I would look for one that can handle at least 165 gallons. The Renal xp3 come highly recommended by turtle owners and is rated for up to 175 gallons. I use the Fluval fx5 on my 75 gallon tank, it is rated for tanks up to 400gallons. My tank has been running for a month now, and the water is still crystal clear.

You can't really overfilter a turtle tank, the more filtration you have, the less water changes and filter cleaning you will have to do.

[turtlesrmom]

I was thinking that might be the case. What I'm going to do though is use this system for now because I just ordered a bunch of media and I might as well finish it up before I change. But thank you for the information. Why do the packages tell you that it is for a tank up to 55 gallons if you're really supposed to have twice that? Maybe because it's okay for fish, just not turtles. And again, Pet Store People just haven't a clue about turtles. Not that I blame them because they cannot be expected to know everything.....but it would help if they'd read up on common household pet care as part of job training. I would totally rely on a Pet Store that actually KNEW about the pet that I had.

[VeipaCray]

The second post of this thread on page one is a link to thefilte media thread. Have a look through that for filter sizings for turtles.

[PridgNYC]

I was thinking that might be the case. What I'm going to do though is use this system for now because I just ordered a bunch of media and I might as well finish it up before I change. But thank you for the information. Why do the packages tell you that it is for a tank up to 55 gallons if you're really supposed to have twice that? Maybe because it's okay for fish, just not turtles. And again, Pet Store People just haven't a clue about turtles. Not that I blame them because they cannot be expected to know everything.....but it would help if they'd read up on common household pet care as part of job training. I would totally rely on a Pet Store that actually KNEW about the pet that I had.

Did you get any biomedia for the filter http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-U-Underwater-Filter-BioMax/dp/B001XRR2IM/ref=pd_sim_petsupplies3 That will work better than the floss or the carbon sponge for colonizing the beneficial bacteria, and it doesnt need to be replaced, just a light rinse when you clean the filter.

I totally agree with you about pet store employee knowledge levels, (heck, any store), I tend to do my own research before I go shopping. My wife fell into the same trap when she brought Jordtim home, she bought what the pet store employee recommended, a 10 gallon tank, a miniscule filter, reptomin sticks, critter screen for the top, a small floating basking platform, a halogen TurtleTuff basking lamp and ceramic lamp fixture and a turtle heater (non -adjustable, but preset for 78 degrees). Actually nothing wrong with the last 5 items in the list, but the 10 gallon tank and filter recommended for a 10 gallon tank were entirely inadequate. I replaced the tiny filter with a reptomin 125 gph filter almost immediately. This kept the water pretty clean while I was building Jordtim's new 75 gallon home.

[turtlesrmom]

Holy cow....that's about what happened to me when I shopped for Krush ! I'm glad I found THIS wonderful forum and site where people are very helpful and quite knowledgable. And yep, I have a good supply of C-nodes 'stage 5 biological media' is what the box says. I was told to replace only 1/3 of it when I clean the filters. You're building his new home.....have you posted photos? I would like to see.

[turtlesrmom]

The second post of this thread on page one is a link to thefilte media thread. Have a look through that for filter sizings for turtles.

Thank you....I will certainly take a look

[PridgNYC]

Holy cow....that's about what happened to me when I shopped for Krush ! I'm glad I found THIS wonderful forum and site where people are very helpful and quite knowledgable. And yep, I have a good supply of C-nodes 'stage 5 biological media' is what the box says. I was told to replace only 1/3 of it when I clean the filters. You're building his new home.....have you posted photos? I would like to see.

Good, having biomedia is important, though with your filter cleaning out the other portions is going to become a chore. That's why I opted for the huge filter for Jordtim's tank. My build thread is here http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=30478 with lots of pictures.

I also have a gallery thread, here http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=30693

[sinarstar]

It has been 2 months since i started this thread. What I have learned in these 2 months is that my fluval 405 is really undersize for my 67 gallons tank. My water will become almost crystal clear right after I did 20% water change, it will stay clear for about a week then start clouding again. I then try to siphon out the pooh every two days and it really helps the water stay clear.

I also make sure i don't over feed my turtle with pallet. I stop feeding lettuce, it will make the pooh become loose and difficult to clean, instead i feed him with controlled amount of tomato and papaya, he loves it so much!

I will definitely buy the FX5 in the near future when I have the budget.

[turtlesrmom]

Me too regarding the filter re: sinarstar. I frequently clean junk out of Krush's tank and his too gets cloudy in a few days after cleaning. And thank you, PridgNYC for the links! You have been very helpful.

[turtlesrmom]

Hey again....I am wondering about the Purigen pack. I've been rinsing it out and putting it back in but today I replaced it because it was a reddish-brown color and rinsing it wasn't taking out the color. Was that a good indication that it needed replacing? I just vacuumed the tank out and rinsed the the filter media in tank water and replaced 1/3 of the water about 2 weeks ago and the tank got clearer and then after a couple days, looked cloudier and then quite cloudy over the next few days. So today I just took the filter media out, replaced the purigen, the carbon pack and 1/3 of the C-nodes...(the biological stuff) and half the water. I'm hoping it will clear up.
Posting a photo after I cleaned the tank today. I took out all but a few rocks, the 2 pieces of driftwood and the fake plants so the tank will be easier to clean because the debris has a tendency to collect in the rocks and driftwood pieces. Can't take out everything cuz Krush likes to move things around with his nose and he'd be bored with nothing to rearrange.
In a few days, when it starts to clean up, (hopefully!) I will post a photo of his improved tank.

[VeipaCray]

You can't just rinse Purigen. It has to be regenerated (see below)...

Purigen Directions (source: http://www.seachem.com/Products/product ... rigen.html )


Rinse before use. Use in a fine mesh filter bag. Each 1 L treats up to 4,000 L (1,000 gallons*) for up to six months. Exhaustion is indicated by a pronounced discoloration of the beads to dark brown or black.

Regeneration: Soak in a 1:1 bleach:water solution for 24 hours in a non-metalic container in a well ventilated area and away from children. Rinse well, then soak for 8 hours with a solution containing 2 tablespoons of ChlorGuard™, Prime®, or equivalent dechlorinator per cup of water. Rinse well. Original color and full activity should now be restored and Purigen® is ready for reuse. Caution: some slime coat products may permanently foul Purigen® and render regeneration difficult. Do not reuse if odor of chlorine is detectable. In case of doubt, soak beads in small quantity of water and test for residual chlorine with a chlorine test kit.

[turtlesrmom]

I remember seeing that in the directions now. Where can you get ChlorGuard or Prime and if I keep the old Purigen filter pack will it regenerate after I find the stuff I need or will that be too late?

[VeipaCray]

Prime you can get anywhere. My local Petco / Petsmart carries it. It's available online from any online retailer carrying pet products also. You don't need much of it. The $3 bottle (smallest one) lasts me about a year or so.

Yes you can regenerate the old Purigen any time. It just stinks until it's regenerated... I keep my non-regenerated purigen in a ziplock bag until I can soak it to contain the smell.